Author: Bridget Willard

  • Good at strategy? Great. Do the work. Be a practitioner.

    It’s great to be a strategist. Heck, it’s a higher-paying job. But it’s dangerous to be too far away from tactics — especially since they change so often in tech. To be better at the work, you have to do the work.

    A coder can’t understand overall strategy without an intimacy with the code he’s proficient in, or better yet, understanding trends in codebases. A mechanic would not be able to shape and evolve his business if he doesn’t understand how much time an oil change should take.

    Most small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs are also practitioners. It’s not degrading to your role to do the work. So why do I hear myself saying this so often?

    Do the Work.

    Jason Knill and I shape organic and paid advertising at GiveWP along with my traditional content marketing goals like blog posts and email marketing. We look at trends, we talk about insights from in-person meetings, Meetups, Twitter, WordCamps, and other people’s news. We bring a “mental rigor and curiosity,” as he calls it, to our work with GiveWP.

    Lately, we’ve been having a conversation around craft. Why do so many people in our industry enjoy making craft beer? Why are people in tech turning to knitting, gardening, or even fishing?

    It’s about short-term satisfaction and accomplishment.

    So often our work has long-term results. It’s no different with strategy. To craft a strategy and then wait for results takes faith — faith in the process, faith in the forecasting, faith in the tactics.

    [bctt tweet=”Waiting for results takes faith — in the process, in the forecasting, in the tactics.” username=”bridgetmwillard”]

    So why do so many people shy away from tactics and stick with strategy?

    The only reason I can come up with is job protection.

    Protecting The Boundaries of Your Job Title

    Being a Marketing Manager means thinking strategically. That’s a closely-guarded job title. I’ve had friends say they won’t do “x, y, or z” because it devalues their job title. I’ve also been told that I’m acting like a “Social Media Manager” as if it’s more degrading than a “Marketing Manager.”

    Hey, I get it. In this world, regardless of how far we’ve come, a woman usually only gains salary increases by switching jobs. It’s sad from the point of diversity, feminism, and, I hate to say it, company culture.

    I recently read this post called “6 Reasons Why You Are Losing Key Employees” on LinkedIn by Bärí A. Williams. She brings up a valid point about salary history:

    “If two people with the same experience and education are hired as peers, are their titles and pay equal? Because people of color and women are often underpaid, even when moving companies or switching roles, they lose out of money based on salary history. Assuring that rank and pay are fair helps keep people of color and women from being under-leveled and underpaid.” Bärí A. Williams

    Consequences of Status Protection

    Before I digress too far away from my point of “doing the work,” there is something we should think about in this vein.

    If “it’s not my job” prevails any company culture, what you’ll have is an employee who is looking to transition to any good offer that presents itself. This will happen either consciously or subconsciously.

    What you’ve lost is bigger than the time you’ve invested in said employee.

    You’ve lost loyalty.

    A loss in loyalty affects the entire company culture. People watch how Employee X is treated. They will pick up on cognitive dissonance. They will come to the conclusion that if Employee X isn’t valued, maybe they’re not either.

    But I digress. The point is that no matter the reason you think you should protect the boundaries of your job title, being too far away from tactics affects strategy.

    What is the difference between strategy and tactics?

    Strategy is tied to goals. Where do you want to be? What would you like to achieve in a certain timeframe.

    Strategy is the plan — 30 days, 120 days, 1 year.

    Think of it in terms we may be more familiar with: war. Strategy is about winning the war. Tactics are how you do it. The great generals of time understand the landscape, their enemy, their enemy’s tactics, and the strengths and weaknesses of their own army.

    Don’t like war? How about sports? No football team goes against another team without spending time on the field in practice. The strategy of the game never changes: outscore the opposing team by running the ball in the end zone.

    The tactics to achieve that strategy vary depending upon the team you’re playing. Coaches and leadership — maybe even the team — will spend hours watching tape of the opposing team — studying their every move. The strategy of studying the opposition helps you find their strengths and weaknesses. It helps shape the tactics used in order to accomplish the overall goals.

    Coaches and generals apply strategy to achieve their goals, but in war and football, the tactics and tools don’t evolve as quickly as the digital world. This is why it’s important to do the work.

    [bctt tweet=”Tactics in social shift frequently. Do the work. Be a practitioner.” username=”bridgetmwillard”]

    Strategy and Tactics are not Mutually Exclusive

    If you’ve ever listened to Gary Vaynerchuk, then you’ve heard him say, “be a practitioner.” He talks about having his head in the clouds and his feet in the dirt.

    For him, clouds represent strategy and tactics the dirt.

    In this video he says,

    I believe that engagement on Twitter makes sense. I also then do it.”

    Do the Work.

    Once you write your strategy and start implementing it, you may see results that surprise you — in any direction. Do you stop to ask yourself why?

    Why are those ads converting? What is your time on site? What are the voids your brand can fill in your industry? Where can you show your value? How can you increase loyalty? Why is your open rate so low? Is it just your company or is it the service?

    Questions are important. Questions drive you to answers.

    [bctt tweet=”If you don’t understand tactics, you won’t ask the right questions.” username=”bridgetmwillard”]

    Doing the work gives you familiarity. Sure, Vayner Media has over 800 employees. But what’s amazing about Gary Vaynerchuk is that he always does the work. That’s why his agency has won in so many areas.

    “Here’s the thing: if you’re not constantly working on your craft—if you get too romantic about doing things how they’ve “always been done”—you’re going to lose. You need to be a practitioner.” Gary Vaynerchuk

    Tactical shifts — especially in media — can alter the effectiveness of your strategy. If you distance yourself too far from implementation, you will not be able to create or alter a strategy that creates results.

    Do the work.

    “Be a practitioner.”

  • What if? (Defiant Love)

    Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

    What if we defied reality

    and lived our dreams with fervor?

    What if we defied society

    and pushed our boundaries even further?


    What if we defied our silence

    and spoke the words yet unspoken?

    What if we defied our scars

    and were healed together no longer broken?


    What if we defied our fears

    and walked boldly through the unknown?

    What if we defied physics

    and time was beholden to no one?


    What if we defied biology

    and made our family together with laughter?

    What if we defied statistics

    and lived happily ever after?


    What if we defied our selfish ways

    and served others with our blessings?

    What if we lived a defiant love

    and learned from all of our lessons?

  • #NPChat: LinkedIn for Nonprofits

    Does LinkedIn still matter? Do nonprofits need to be present there?

    Last fall, I wrote a post on GiveWP.com called “LinkedIn 101 For Nonprofits – Leveraging Your Professional Network” as part of my Nonprofit 101 series.

    The truth is LinkedIn the most stable and professional of the social networks. The culture of LinkedIn allows and encourages self-promotion (like listing your projects, degrees, and certificates).

    Users are encouraged to follow companies, professionals should list their volunteer experience, and Company Pages can post updates to engage their audience.

    All of this is a plus in the column for nonprofits to leverage LinkedIn. So, let’s talk about it in #NPChat this week.

    Why Join a Twitter Chat?

    Twitter chats are a great way to connect with like-minded professionals who are engaged users on Twitter. This elevates your brand, gives you visibility, and positions yourself as an expert on the topic and in the field.

    Who doesn’t want to connect with your community? Who doesn’t need help every once in a while?

    Joining our weekly Twitter Chat may just be the right thing for you. And, who knows, you may even have a few tweets featured in our recap!

    #NPChat takes place every Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

    How to Join a Twitter Chat

    1. Follow the hashtag on Twitter (but don’t forget to add #NPChat manually after your tweet or we won’t see your tweet, especially in a comment retweet).
    2. Use Hootsuite or TweetDeck and make a column for #NPChat (but don’t forget to put #NPChat manually after your tweet).
    3. Go to the Twubs page for #NPChat.
    4. My preferred method is using TweetChat. Just go here and login with your Twitter account. You can even highlight the moderator so you don’t miss questions.

    LinkedIn for Nonprofits: The Questions

    This week’s chat topic is about LinkedIn. Worth mentioning also is LinkedIn’s nonprofit resource landing page here. That’s something you’ll want to read in addition to what will be offered during the chat.

    Q1. How are you currently involved with a nonprofit?

    Q2. Do you have a LinkedIn profile?

    Q3. As a user, how do you interact with Company Pages?

    Q4. Do you follow any nonprofits on LinkedIn?

    Q5. Does your nonprofit have a Company Page?

    Q6. What do you post on your Company Page?

    Q7. What are your LinkedIn tips and tricks?

    See you Wednesday, April 26, 2017, at 10:00 am Pacific Time on Twitter. Invite your friends.

  • The Best SEO Advice for Nonprofits — #NPChat Recap 4/19/17

    What’s the best SEO advice for nonprofits? Do nonprofits even need SEO?

    Yes. Nonprofits should care about SEO. Essentially online donations are e-commerce, so best practices apply to nonprofits.

    Why should Nonprofits Care about SEO?

    Donation sites are e-commerce. They need to be treated in the same way. You wouldn’t put an online store up and then not optimize i? Would you?

    SEO isn’t black magic or wizardry. It’s really just intentional writing for your audience. It means being found. It means writing quality content that solves problems for your customers.

    For nonprofits, SEO means answering the “why” to your current and potential donor base. What is your mission? Who are you serving? Why are you working so hard for your cause? Why should I donate? Who is my audience? What does my donor base care about?

    Recap of #NPChat: The Best SEO Advice for Nonprofits

    We had a great chat today with some engaged SEO pros and people involved in nonprofit marketing, volunteerism, and website development.

    I hope you enjoy the recap.

    Q1. How are you currently involved with a nonprofit?

    Q2. How do you define SEO?

    Q3. How do you determine your keywords?

    Q4. What tools do you use to optimize your content?

    Q5. What are your strategies to reach your audience?

    Q6. How often do you publish?

    Q7. What are your favorite SEO tips and tricks?

    And that’s a wrap!

    We’d love to have you join us every week on Wednesday at 10:00 am Pacific Time.

    On April 26 2017, we will be talking about LinkedIn for nonprofits.

    See you there.